Q: For a friend's upcoming birthday I bought her a bottle of white truffle oil, something she's been dying to try but hesitant to splurge on. I'd like to get her some ingredients to go with the oil. How do you guys recommend showcasing truffle oil, especially for a truffle oil virgin?

Sent by Sarah More

Over the years, coconut oil has had a bad rap, but studies are now finding it has great health benefits and is a wonderful substitute for other oils in your cooking and baking.

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These days it happens more often than not: you find yourself hosting a dinner party where at least one guest has a dietary restriction. I've gotten used to this. I once fed a group of ten actors for a week: one vegan, two vegetarians, one allergic to nuts, one lactose intolerant and one with a wheat allergy, so I know I can usually roll with pretty much any cooking challenge.

But sometimes I goof, and when the goof is simply forgetting about an allergy and realizing I can make up something else on the spot, I get excited. This is how unexpected ideas come to be and how some of my best recipes are born.

Recently, I found myself tending a table for four, including a newly gluten-free friend. At the end of the meal, I set out four perfect little lemony desserts containing flour. Oops. More

Do you love toasty coconut? And granola? Then you'll love this suggestion from Melissa Clark: make your granola with coconut oil! Virgin coconut oil not only has a number of health benefits, it also lends a warm, nutty flavor to granola. More

The enemies of olive oil are air and sunlight which cause oxidation and loss of flavor. There are many ways to protect your olive oil, but the most popular is to store your oil in a tinted bottle with a spout.

I also like using an old enamel coffee pot, a trick I learned from Sam Clark, chef and owner of the Moro restaurant in London. More

You guys know that Trader Joe's is now carrying coconut oil, right? Because that's kind of the most awesome news ever. I may or may not have jumped with glee when I saw it on store shelves last week. More

Aside from making your kitchen smell like a buttery wonderland, clarifying butter removes the solid particles suspended in the butterfat. Ghee takes it a bit further by simmering out more of the water. The resulting liquid gold is useful for all kinds of kitchen projects, from curries and stir-fries to pastries and hollandaise sauce. Yum. More

I keep two kinds of extra virgin olive oil in my kitchen: a small bottle of robust, peppery, somewhat expensive oil for finishing dishes and special salads, and a milder, everyday oil for when the flavor of the oil might be overwhelmed by other ingredients or isn't very important. Everyday olive oil, like everyday wine, is a kitchen staple and while I don't reach for the cheapest brand from the bottom shelf, I need to keep the price point fairly low.

What brand do you use as your everyday olive oil? More

3 Liter Fusti for Olive Oil

• $80
• Il Fustino

Do you buy your olive oil in bulk? (It's not a bad idea; you can save a lot of money doing this.) If so, then consider investing in a stainless steel fusti, a traditional olive oil barrel designed to protect oil from heat, light, and other corrosive influences. This is one of the better deals I've found on these so far.

Includes dripless stainless steel tap, but the stand costs $20 extra. More

Don't get me wrong: I love a good buttery scone or crumb-topped muffin as much as the next coffee shop addict. But as we settle back into a fall baking routine, sometimes it's nice to have the option of, well...something a bit healthier. In the most recent issue of Fine Cooking, Ellie Krieger makes the case for baking with olive oil. More